In Lowry, Giants are looking out for No. 3

Henry Schulman-San Francisco Chronicle

There is more to the story of why the Giants named Barry Zito their Opening Day starter, and it has to do with who will be slotted third in the rotation - the team leader in wins last year.

The Giants did select Zito in part to acknowledge his experience and role as staff leader, but there was a practical reason, too. If Matt Cain pitched the opener and Zito the second game, a right-hander would have had to be slotted third and Noah Lowry fourth to balance the rotation, and the brass did not want Lowry to be that low after his 14-8 season.

"No way," pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "We haven't been a very good team the last three years, and he's been seven or eight games above .500, just guessing (actually, 34-31). To put him fourth, that's a disservice in itself right there. I think it would affect the locker room, like, 'How could they do that?' "

So Lowry will pitch third, leaving Tim Lincecum and Kevin Correia for the final two spots, assuming Correia solidifies his hold on the last job.

Lowry threw his first official bullpen session of the season on a miserably cold and wet morning Friday with no evidence of the forearm tightness that forced him to miss the final month of 2007. He might argue with the word "forced," saying he could have pitched had the games meant something.

That made two straight seasons shortened by injury. In 2006, Lowry hurt his oblique muscle in his first start. He did not reach 160 innings in either year after surpassing 200 in 2005. Lowry has spent considerable time with the Giants' medical staff discussing ways to strengthen his arm.

Lowry's 14-8 record on a 71-win team is more remarkable considering he did not make a start after Aug. 29. Yet he was not satisfied.

"Obviously I'm happy about it, but there are things I'm not happy about," he said. "I had a ton of walks (87). That's something I tried to work on this offseason, my consistency. Those are things I focused on more. I didn't focus on the 14 wins."

Lincecum on target: When Lincecum started to throw Friday, his fastballs went anywhere except where they were supposed to. They were high, low, inside and outside. By the end of his 10 minutes, Lincecum was hitting his corners.

He had a good reason to look rusty. Unlike most pitchers, who throw several bullpen sessions before they get to spring training, Lincecum did not work off a mound until Monday, at the team's request. The Giants are being especially careful with a pitcher whom fans have dubbed "The Franchise."

They want to preserve Lincecum's arm, the same reason they shut him down toward the end of September even though he was not hurt.

"We want to err on the side of caution," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We wanted to make sure he got a good break and make sure he's fresh this year. Not just fresh, but healthy. He threw 175 innings last year. The jump to 200 is not inconceivable. There is research that guys who throw 200 innings early in their careers are more susceptible to injuries. We're aware of that."

Briefly: In another show of unity, all of the starting pitchers and some relievers plan to wear black stirrups over their socks, like players of yore. "Personally, I like the look. It's classic, old-school," said Lincecum, who wore stirrups in high school. Equipment manager Mike Murphy had to scrounge some from the minor-league camp. ... Bochy said he plans to stretch left-hander Jonathan Sanchez as a starter this spring, even if he's not being penciled into the rotation. "You can't have enough depth as far as starters," Bochy said. ... Byung-Hyun Kim's representatives said the pitcher is not interested in a minor-league deal.